My 11-year-old pulled me behind a pillar at the mall—what we saw my mother-in-law doing made us hide, and by morning, two people had gone pale

the kitchen counter.

The alarm company.

A motion sensor had triggered at the rear patio door.

Everyone fell silent.

Margaret looked at the clock.

7:58 a.m.

Victor had come anyway.

PART 3

The alarm dispatcher was still speaking when a dull metallic knock came from the back of the house.

Victor was testing the patio door.

I had expected him to discover the front continue reading …